Well that was anticlimactic... On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved by voice vote a Senate-passed bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, clearing the way to end the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history after 76 days.
The measure now heads to President Trump’s desk. The shutdown, which began February 14, will officially conclude once the president signs the legislation into law.
Democrats had long objected to funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol - the two DHS agencies at the center of the administration’s immigration crackdown - prompting the impasse. The Senate unanimously passed legislation last month to fund the remainder of DHS, but House Republicans initially rejected the plan, arguing it would amount to caving to Democratic demands to defund the president’s immigration agenda.
After weeks of negotiations, House Speaker Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and President Trump settled on a two-track solution. The first track - immediate House passage of the Senate bill - will reopen the broader department. The second track will fund ICE and Border Patrol through the budget reconciliation process, allowing Republicans to advance the measure without Senate Democratic support.
Both chambers took the first formal step toward reconciliation this week by adopting a budget plan that directs the relevant committees to draft legislation funding the immigration enforcement agencies. President Trump has said he wants the full reconciliation package on his desk by June 1.
The president ordered DHS to redirect funds to cover employee payroll in March, but Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned that money for payroll would run out by the beginning of May, intensifying pressure on lawmakers to act.
ICE and Border Patrol have been largely insulated from the shutdown’s effects. Both agencies received tens of billions of dollars in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, allowing their operations to continue mostly unimpeded.
The heaviest burden has fallen on other DHS components, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said his workforce was “furious” that the impasse had dragged on so long, calling the situation “incredibly frustrating.”
The House action marks the beginning of the end for a shutdown that has left thousands of federal workers and critical agencies in limbo for more than two and a half months. Once signed by the president, the legislation will restore funding and stability to the vast majority of DHS operations while Republicans move forward separately on their immigration enforcement priorities through reconciliation.